Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Happiness
Aminatta Forna
Review by Priscilla Comen
Happiness
Aminatta Forna
Review by Priscilla Comen
Happiness, by Aminatta Forna, is the tale of Jean who studies foxes, Attila who has come to deliver a paper at a conference on psychiatry, and the city of London. Author Forna travels back and forward in time to weave all these characters together. First we see Jean patiently inserting a chip into a wild coyote. Jean’s real passion is for foxes, and ten years later her business, Wild Spaces, is flourishing. When Attila visits a rest home, we meet Rose, his aging first love who now suffers from Alzeimers. Jean is out at night searching for foxes, Attila on his way to his hotel after a concert. They meet coincidentally. But neither believes in coincidence. He stays at her place for wine and dinner.
Jean speaks on the radio about foxes and answers belligerent questions from London residents who see them as a threat. When Attila hears her, she reminds him of Rose. When Jean hears that Attila’s niece’s son has gone missing, she maps out a plan as if she is trapping a fox. Author Forna tells us in great detail about coyotes, how they exist, how they behave, in spite of the fears of humans, on their streets.
Jean and her colleague, Victo,r speak at a meeting and are cast as defenders of coyotes and wolves, deserving of protection. Attila interviews a woman he will defend after an arson attack. He suspects she has PTSD following an auto accident when her husband was killed. The stress of war is its usual cause, but Attila thinks otherwise. When they both finish their jobs, they go to Attila’s hotel room and make love. Attila is reminded of his former wife, Marysa, who died alone, while he was in Iraq, questioning a man thought to have PTSD. He wonders about the meaning of happiness and the knowledge of death throughout our lives. Later he sits with Rose at the rest home as she is dieing. He changes his conference talk to be about the paradox of happiness.
Author Forna gives us much to think about, from wild wolves and coyotes, to life and death. She has won many awards and is a visiting chair at Georgetown University. Find this on the new fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.
Jean speaks on the radio about foxes and answers belligerent questions from London residents who see them as a threat. When Attila hears her, she reminds him of Rose. When Jean hears that Attila’s niece’s son has gone missing, she maps out a plan as if she is trapping a fox. Author Forna tells us in great detail about coyotes, how they exist, how they behave, in spite of the fears of humans, on their streets.
Jean and her colleague, Victo,r speak at a meeting and are cast as defenders of coyotes and wolves, deserving of protection. Attila interviews a woman he will defend after an arson attack. He suspects she has PTSD following an auto accident when her husband was killed. The stress of war is its usual cause, but Attila thinks otherwise. When they both finish their jobs, they go to Attila’s hotel room and make love. Attila is reminded of his former wife, Marysa, who died alone, while he was in Iraq, questioning a man thought to have PTSD. He wonders about the meaning of happiness and the knowledge of death throughout our lives. Later he sits with Rose at the rest home as she is dieing. He changes his conference talk to be about the paradox of happiness.
Author Forna gives us much to think about, from wild wolves and coyotes, to life and death. She has won many awards and is a visiting chair at Georgetown University. Find this on the new fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.